The Last Dance
by Beth0987
Summary: All Kurogane wants is one last dance. Sequel to 'Learning the Moves' and 'One Step Behind'. KuroFai.


Disclaimer: I don't own Tsubasa.

Sorry this took so long- I actually finished writing it about three weeks ago, but I thought I already uploaded it. This is the last of what my friend calls 'those trippy dance ones'.

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Fai won't dance with me.

And no matter how bad I felt caught up in the endless downward spiral of our dance, I feel a hundred times worse now. I can't concentrate on anything. My mind is continually tracing steps I so often followed.

I'm going insane.

I thought even if it ended, I'd be able to manage. Somehow. I'd survive- I always do. But the dancing has been a part of my life for so long, and for at least a few months it's _been_ my life. To have something like that ripped away from you, so quickly, with no explanation… it left me with an emptiness I can't stand anymore.

I don't know quite how it happened. One day it was fine- as fine as we ever got- and we were dancing, and the next it was gone. Fai still talks to me, but it's with the same relentless cheer and perfect smile he shows to everyone. Whatever we… whatever I had, it doesn't exist. Like it never did.

Maybe he's still dancing. But if he is, it's gone beyond a stage I can follow him to.

I don't know why I ever tried to pretend I had any chance of winning. Forget one step behind. I was never in the same league.

So I'm leaving. Tonight. I'm no use to anyone like this, and I can't stand to be around Fai. I've lost him. I've lost anything I had with him. I…

Maybe it was love.

But whatever. It doesn't really matter anymore.

I check my bag, making sure I haven't left anything behind. All there. I touch the hilt of my sword, and cast a quick glance over the camp. Their faces, lit by the dying embers of the campfire, all look deeply asleep.

I breathe a sigh of relief. That was one problem I wasn't looking forward to.

I like this world. It's quiet, but at least it isn't filled with those annoying beepy gadgets Fai and Mokona seem to love so much. It's kind of like home, and people tend to get on with their lives in peace and are friendly enough. I'm sure I'll find a job of some kind. I'll have to. Once I leave, I'll have no way of getting between worlds.

I consider leaving a note, but there's nothing I can think to say.

We passed through a village about a day ago. I'll head to that.

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Even though it's damp, cold, and an icy wind is cutting through my clothing like a knife, I'm smiling in a way I wouldn't have even thought possible an hour ago.

I'm being followed.

And it's Fai.

Oh, he thinks he's being sneaky, but even though I can't dance I'm a damn good ninja. Besides, no-one else in any dimension goes 'hyuuu' when he's thinking.

So I've decided to lead him on, just a little bit. There was a stream about half a mile from where we camped. I remember it, because Mokona got absolutely filthy rolling around in the mud and then climbed all over me.

We're nearly there. I step carefully around a fallen tree, stop, and wait for the faint rustle of Fai doing the same. He's about ten paces back from me. I look around, pretending to think about where to go next. There's silence, apart from the faint rustle of the trees.

Then he moves forward slightly.

To exactly where I want him.

We're practically on top of the water now, and all around the solid-looking ground are areas of thick bog. Fai's just behind one.

I move forward quickly, and Fai hurries to catch up.

If it wasn't dark, and cold, and he wasn't concentrating on not losing me, he wouldn't have fallen for it in a million years. But as it is, he pitches face forward into the thick, freezing slime. To give him credit, he doesn't make a noise.

It makes it easier for me to pretend I didn't hear the splash though. There's a largish clearing in front of me, but I hurry towards the trees. I can lose him there, easily.

'Kuro- Kurogane?'

I freeze. _Did he just call me… _Damn. Now he knows I heard him.

There's a sucking sound, and I can imagine him pulling himself out of the bog.

There's a rustle of cloth and a muffled thump. His coat must have been filthy and completely clogged with the muck. Of course he took it off. Inwardly I wince for him. His clothes aren't that thick and it's not getting any warmer.

I turn round. He's standing there, splashed with mud and worse things, his coat in a vile heap beside him.

'Kuro-chii?' He looks at me, and I see something I've been longing for. The same tone in his voice.

I can't hold back a gasp. One last dance… How fitting.

_It's dark, apart from the one pool of light. My boots click on the floor. He's standing across from me, half-hidden in shadows. He smiles and holds out a hand. I take it. How can I not?_

'What?'

'Where are you going?'

_He makes the first move, of course. He leads, he always does. _

'The village. We were there yesterday, remember?'

His eyes narrow, just a fraction. Is he angry?

'Why?'

'I was thinking of asking if they have any jobs I can do,'

_These are moves we've done before, many times, we can and have done them in our sleep… But there's a new element to it, something lurking that hasn't come to the surface yet…_

'I never knew you were such a Samaritan, Kuro-pon. But how would you get back in time?'

_He's always been able to dance circles around me, so I didn't know whether I was coming or going or which direction was up. But not this time. If this is going to be our last dance, it's my way or nothing. _

_I'm going to trip him up. _

'I'm not going to come back. You know that,'

_There! He falters, just for a fraction of a second, but recovers so gracefully __you wouldn't notice. _

'Why not?'

Even though I was expecting the question, I still don't have a proper answer.

'I…' I look down, trying to think of what to say. I need an answer soon, or everything I've worked for will be lost.

'I just want to move on,' It's a bad reply and he knows it.

'We've done nothing but move on since we all met,'

'Then maybe I want something to stay the same,'

_Ha. He may be good, but he forgot I got better. _

There's something more than innocent confusion in his eyes. It's well-hidden,

But it's there nonetheless.

'What do you mean, Kuro-tan?'

_I was expecting this as well. We're both going to see if I can really dance. I know I can't. But __this is our last dance. It doesn't matter. _

'I can't dance,'

There. I've said it. His eyes widen in astonishment, and he takes a step towards me. He reaches up to touch my face and I ignore the cold trail of mud his hand leaves.

'I don't know, Kuro-chii. You did pretty well for a beginner,'

'Not well enough,'

_This is a dance we've never danced before, but it doesn't seem as difficult as __the others. Maybe I'm getting better, maybe it's just easier. Or maybe __because once again Fai is dancing with me. I don't know._

'Oh, I think you did,' There's a smile in his eyes, and it's sweeter than any I've seen him wear.

I lean down and kiss him, and I can feel his lips curve up against mine.

He's letting me have this dance.

We have to stop eventually, of course, and not just because it's freezing and wet still and we have a half-mile to walk back before dawn. Fai pulls away and looks at me seriously.

'Did you mean what you said about leaving, Kuro-rin?'

'I did-' His face falls. 'Now I don't,'

He grins and throws his arms around my neck, and I hug him back. The dance is ending, but I don't mind. Somehow it doesn't seem very important any more.

'We have to get back,' I whisper. For such a skinny man he has a very strong grip, and I want to end the night with my ribs intact.

'Mmm…' He nuzzles my neck. 'I guess we do,'

'How are going to explain it to Sakura and Syaoran?' I ask. Fai looks confused.

'Explain what?'

I gesture to him, and then myself. Our clothes are smeared with grass and dirt, and Fai still has half the bog on his clothing.

'Oh…' His face screws up as he thinks. 'We can tell them I fell into the river and you got dirty trying to save me!'

I grin. 'Yeah, That'll work,'

We head back.

_The dance ends, and the lights go off. The audience doesn't clap. _

_The curtain falls, and the __theatre closes. _

_The night goes on. _


End file.
